Amid increasing sales, Takhar shoemakers demand facilities

TALOQAN (Pajhwok): Shoe manufacturers in northern Takhar province say their sales have recently increased but they need tools to improve their business.

Many families in the provincial capital, Taloqan, and other areas have long been associated with shoe-making.

Abdul Hakim, 65, a shoemaker who works in a wooden both in Taloqan, says: “We inherited the shoe-making profession from our forefathers, we make rawhide shoes, leather socks, boots and other types of footwear,” he said.

He said leather-made shoes were favoured by Uzbek people and boots were used for the Buzkashi game.

He said people took interest in their products despite being expensive. “We use old local materials for making shoes.”

Hakim said shoes made with imported soles were expensive but those made with vehicle tyres in Taloqan were cheaper and had good quality.

He said shoemakers in Taloqan used old fashioned tools and their sales could further increase if they started using modern equipment to make better shoes.

“We use awls, hammer, anvil and ordinary sewing machines, we need special shoe-sewing machines and formats, we currently use simple tools for all shoe making process,” he added.

He said they would be able to produce multiple times more shoes if provided with advanced machines.

Sayed Rahmatullah, another craftsman, said he daily made and sold 34 pairs of shoes. He has employed six people in his small factory in Taloqan.

Rahmatuallh said shoes produced in Taloqan had nothing special, but they were trying to improve their quality and reduce prices to make them affordable for all people.

“We produce different types of shoes, I check the market for new shoes, purchase them and bring them to my factory. We disassemble the shoes and learn structures, we then produce the copy even of higher quality,” he said.

He added making a pair of shoes cost them 400 afghanis and they sold the same on a fair price.

Nizamuddin, a resident of Taloqan, said he was using locally made shoes for the past three years.

“Shoes made in Taloqan are good, they are made of leather which does not produce smell, keep feet warm in winter and cold in summer,” he said.

He also asked other Afghans to use domestic products to play their role in the country’s economic growth.

Takhar economy director, Ahmad Zia Tariq, said the handicraft industry had developed, but not in an organized way/

He met a number of craftsmen and his office was trying to organize developments in the handicraft sector, said the director.

A number of charity organizations and government institutes had trained many Taloqan residents in shoe-making, he said.

Tariq said he had no exact number for handicraft factories, but they had recently started assessing the private sector.

He said there were two groups of shoe-making factories -- one supported by some organizations and the other self-reliant.

Tariq confirmed local shoes had found good market compared to the past and said the provincial was trying find nationwide market for Taloqan shoes and other handicrafts.

Handicraft industrialists in Takhar say the lack of advanced machines, high prices of raw materials and lack of market for their products are main challenges.